Gas springs are used as spring elements in various fields, including in vehicles and in furniture. They provide a force that varies, within narrow limits, with the movement of the structures to which they are attached as those structures moves along a defined path. For example, gas springs may be used to support the weight of a flap or a valve or an other object, or to close doors, or to carry out similar functions.
When gas springs are used as spring elements on a sliding door, for encouraging the door to close, for example, the sliding door must be coupled to the gas spring before the door reaches the end of its closing path. To the extent possible this coupling should occur without impact and without producing a jolt/tug/jerk. In addition, the sliding door should first be gently slowed down and thereafter be slowly moved independently into its final position. For this reason, shock absorption systems are needed when a gas spring is used to guide a component like a sliding door into a final position.